1986 Accounting Hall of Fame induction: Robert N. Anthony

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1986 Accounting Hall of Fame Induction
Robert N. Anthony
CITATION
Presented by: Robert M. Trueblood Professor Yuji Ijiri Carnegie-Mellon University
Written by: Professor Thomas J. Burns The Ohio State University
Born into a close family that might have been painted by a Rockwell, a family directly descended from those who came over on the Mayflower, he is a private person-possibly because he skipped several grades while his brothers did not, although close to him in age.
He is remembered as a boy not so much for playing the saxaphone or even as the owner of a $20 Model-T who could change drivers at full throttle, but as a boy scout who developed a lifelong passion for mountain climbing and skiing, and as an avid reader of books with one forefinger turning the pages and the other scooped peanut butter out of a jar.
A New Englander of steadfast integrity, he is a friend of greatest loyalty to many, including a number of institutions such as his New Hampshire hometown, Waterville Valley, where he has been the town auditor for a decade; the U.S. Defense Department for which he served in two wars, the last one as Comptroller; his alma maters, Colby College and the Harvard Business School, each of which he has served with the utmost distinction for 50 years; the National Association of Accountants for whom he is a guru; and the American Accounting Association for whom he has been president.
A student who has burnished bright the memory of his mentor, Ross Graham Walker, he is now truly memorable to his own students even if he could never remember their names. But how could students forget a teacher who explained the elusive concept of depreciation by burning a candle?
His considerable competency in word processing has led to publications which stem, he claims, from being a poor boy required to take touch typing.